"FOR" OR "DURING"

FOR OR DURING?

Spanish speakers LOVE to use the word "during" but in many cases it is the wrong word to use. For example, a common mistake that I hear is something like: "I was at university during 3 years". In this case it is much better to use "for". So, it should be: "I was at university FOR 3 years"....much better!!!

The general rule is that when you are talking about a NUMBER (in this case "3 years") you need to use "for". If you are talking about something else...for example "the summer holiday" you can use "during". Example: I was in England DURING the summer holiday".

I hope that helps. If you are interested in AVOIDING more Spanglish mistakes you can check out my 5-star rated book "365 consejos para mejorar tu inglés" on Amazon!